I believe 13 Reasons Why is the show we all needed and here is why!

I do not own any of the photos used in this post. All credits go to the 13 Reason Why production team.

13 Reasons Why has caused a huge amount of controversy if you have not noticed. Especially with the recent season’s release. The recent season’s last episode had the main event that caused the uproar. It involved Monty and Tyler…I will not give it away further than that for those who have not watched it. I promise I will not go into too much detail on that scene, but I am sure everyone knows by now it was the final rape scene.

For those who do not know, 13 Reasons Why is a Netflix Original show, that surrounds the story of a young girl named Hannah who takes her own life. It really is eyeopening for many when it comes to what is happening in high school currently. There are many people who find the show to be extremely inappropriate. What people do not realize is that this show is what we all needed. Many do not understand the truth behind what people deal with in high school nowadays. This is the show that presents the gruesome side of it all.

Why I believe this show is needed…

The rise in suicide rates within high school students is alarming. When I was in high school a few colleagues of mine unfortunately passed away due to this. People never really focused on the why. They instead focused on the how they did it. This was truly tragic because no one cared to know what really hurt this individual to the point where they chose to take their own life. What made this person deal with the horrible battle of depression, anxiety, etc.? No one cared. At least, no one cares until you are dead.

The amount of bullying that occurred in my high school alone that no one talked about was sad. Teachers knew who was getting bullied, yet they did nothing about it. Most students who get bullied are not going to speak to a teacher because they have a fear of the bully. Instead of the teachers asking questions, everyone stayed silent. Until they decided to take their own life and people wondered how they could have helped.

The problem with mental health is people choose to not speak about it. People like to act like it does not exist. 13 Reasons Why broke that barrier. It speaks about the harsh reality of it. The reasons why someone falls into that downward spiral. This is the show we never knew we all needed. The show that opens the eyes of many to the truth. Even though many have complained, these are the people who have never experienced the rough side of depression.

Let’s encourage talking about why the problem exists.

It is time for every single person to face the truth and just talk about it. Allow shows like 13 Reasons Why to exist. The show provides trigger warnings for a reason. Yes, the rape scenes are harsh. But that is what happens. The truth is, people who face that in reality experience emotions a lot worse than the characters on the show. It is a lot worse in real life and you may not understand that till it happens to you. However, it is important to try to understand it.

Many can not handle seeing it, but it does not mean it should not exist. It bothers me so much when I hear people wanting the show cancelled. Why is it that when there were two scenes of rape in first season that involved a girl no one complained? Why is the male scene so much worse for people to see? We need to change the way society views things. It is up to us to change the face of mental health and not make it something that people should feel embarrassed about.

The Next Steps…

Let’s encourage those who can bear to watch the show to watch it. Try to open discussions about mental health and what it could result in. Talk about things so people who are facing these problems do not feel ashamed of their emotions. Make people comfortable.

If you are someone who deals with mental health problems, please talk about things. I know it is easier said than done, but please communicate. Visit a therapist, talk to an adult, speak to your friends. Just talk to anybody. Encourage the communication and avoid the feeling of embarrassment. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. The way you feel is okay. Feeling like you can not speak to someone is not okay. Find someone you can speak to. EVEN ME. If you ever need someone to speak to, feel free to reach out on my contact page by clicking here. I will give you my personal contact information if you reach out to me.